The state will allow a troubled Dallas charter school to reopen, even as concerns about school spending, student testing and other issues persist.

Children First Academy has been closed since September, when state officials found the school had not run criminal background checks on 17 teachers and staff. Education Commissioner Michael Williams then sought to revoke the school’s charter, citing “persistent, repeated and continuing failure to comply with fundamental safety requirements,” including failure to report allegations of child abuse.

This week, Williams reversed course. In a letter Monday to Children First Superintendent Sherwin Allen, Willliams said he received “satisfactory evidence” that the taxpayer-funded school now meets state fingerprinting and background check laws.

And on Tuesday, the Texas Education Agency — which Williams heads — formally dropped its quest to close down Children First. The agency and the charter school reached an agreement, according to records filed with the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

Kelly Evans, attorney for the school, said it hopes to reopen next month. He said of the agreement, “I think this is a win-win for both the school and the state of Texas, and particularly the families and the communities served by these schools.”

Evans added, “The school was very proactive in putting together a corrective action plan” that addressed concerns raised by the education agency.

Williams “is giving them another chance,” DeEtta Culbertson, an education agency spokeswoman, said Wednesday. But Children First still must comply with the terms of the agreement before it will be allowed to reopen, she said.

“They presented a good case to us, and they were willing to do all that we asked of them,” she said.

The fate of Children First shows how the state’s plans to close a charter aren’t always a done deal. This week, Williams announced he would seek to revoke the charter for Prime Prep Academy, which was co-founded by former Dallas Cowboys star Deion Sanders.

Under the agreement with the education agency, Children First is required to resolve several outstanding issues, including allegations that some employees did little or no work, that it failed to document $4 million in building expenses, and concerns about student test security. The education agency is still investigating Children First’s finances and testing practices.

Children First Academy operates two campuses, one in southeast Oak Cliff and another in Houston. It reported a total enrollment of more than 900 students last year.

The state is also requiring Children First to appoint four new board members.